Purple Exorcist
by Sayakan
Summary: Homura discovers her heritage. (One-shot.)


Homura jumped from building to building, her dark black hair swaying in the wind, and her violet eyes focused straight ahead. In one hand was a grenade, hopefully powerful enough to take out the army of creatures behind her. Miki Sayaka led them, a wolfish smile on her pale face. Homura knew enough about magic to know the blue-haired magical was possessed, if the claws protruding from her fingers were not large enough of a clue.

She threw the grenade, not sparing the time to check if the army of demons had ceased their assault. Falling to the ground, Homura drew a gun from her shield. The magical girl backed up against a wall, waiting for someone to attack her. If Miki jumped her, there might be a problem, but any of the lesser demons would be no problem.

_What is this? _wondered Homura. Earlier that morning, she was fighting a witch with Miki and Sakura. Everything seemed fine, until Homura had a weird feeling. She was speaking to Miki when the blunette gave out a harsh laugh.

"Excellent!" she chortled. "I have found you, my lord. " With a start, Homura realized that Miki was really here, grabbing onto Homura's skirt, and she was no longer flashing back. The brunette spun away, the flimsy cloth ripping, revealing her black leggings. Sprinting forward, Homura jumped and used her magic to land on a new building. She emptied her gun on Miki, who dodged every shot and jumped up to join her.

"You're not Miki, " Homura firmly stated. Miki just laughed again and latched onto Homura's sleeve.

"If need be, I'll drag you to hell," she hissed before yanking hard. Homura grunted as she tried to pull away, but Miki's fingers were already gripping the skin. "You won't do that again!"

"To God I pray, " said a rough voice. The slim figure of Sakura Kyoko appeared on the horizon, a cross in her hands. "You, who give and take. You, whose hands are painted with blood."

"Stop it," screeched Miki in a voice like nails on a chalkboard. "Stop it!" Sakura remained steadfast, her soul gem in her crimson hair sparkling in the light.

"Give me the power, I pray," she continued. "Lend me the power- to defeat this demon!" She raised her hand, which caught fire, and threw the flames at Miki. The girl collapsed, but the claws retracted. "Akemi. We have to hurry." Homura's jaw was wide open, and Sakura growled. "Hurry, damnit!"

"..." Homura followed Sakura who stole one last glance at Miki before she left. Wishing to comfort the girl, Homura decided to speak up. "I'm sure she'll be fine."

"...yeah, you're right," muttered Sakura. "But if she was possessed, she had to have strong despair in her heart. What could have caused that?" There was a sinking feeling in Akemi's stomach as she realized it should be about now when Hitomi told Sayaka about her little crush on Kyosuke.

"We'll ask her later," grimly decided Homura. "So what is this?"

"I'll tell you in the church," replied Sakura as she ran through twisting alleys. "We have to stay safe until dawn." Homura slightly huffed (she still wasn't in the best shape) and followed the tenacious redhead. "Hurry _up!" _repeated the girl, much to Homura's annoyance.

"I would, but-" she began.

"No talking. Only running." Homura rolled her eyes as she followed. Sakura had turned too quickly to see, though, so the brunette did an infantile thing (something she never did anymore) and stuck out her tongue.

"...!" Homura was forced to shoot again when a wild dog, foaming at the mouth, attacked. It seemed as though she should start conserving her bullets. Though she had a large inventory, it would be foolish to needlessly waste her ammunition.

It was a relief to finally reach the old, boarded up church. Mami Tomoe was waiting there, her hand on a silver gun which she aimed at the door. At Sakura's knock, she stiffened, but relaxed when she saw just who it was.

"What is this?" sharply asked Homura. "Tomoe. Sakura. What happened to Miki?" Instead of answering, Sakura beckoned Homura to a hole, cleverly concealed inside the podium. Inside was a black gun covered with blue flames. Or rather, that was the sheath. Homura instinctively reached forward to pull out the weapon from its holder, but Tomoe's gentle touch stopped her.

"Let Sakura explain," she gently cautioned. So Homura turned to Sakura.

"Well, it's like this," began Sakura. "I was raised as an exorcist, like my father. One who banishes the demons like you saw. They're after you because of how your father was Satan. Dad would've wanted me to save 'every last soul,' so I did that. Got it?" Homura blinked.

"What?" Sakura sighed.

"Whatever. Just take the gun, but don't take it from its sheath, cause then your demonic powers or somethin' is going to be revealed. So take it." When Homura hesitated, Sakura snapped. "_Now." _Tomoe raised her gun as Miki walked in, her eyes unnaturally glowing.

"Man, this body is great," chortled Miki- or rather, the demon in her body. "Too bad about this thing, though. Makes infiltration a _bit _more difficult." She raised the sea-blue soul gem.

"You-!" snarled Sakura as she lunged, but Tomoe held her back.

"Purge." Sakura relaxed and transformed into her magical outfit. Her crimson soul gem lit up as a see-through, illusionary spear entered Miki's body. Miki's eyes flickered back to normal before she collapsed, and Sakura closed her eyes in relief.

"Well, that was anti-climatic," casually noted Homura. "If you don't mind, I have some witch-hunting to do." Sakura got up, staring at her hands.

"Aha… ahaha! Finally! A true magical girl, in my grasp." Sakura's soul gem began to crack, and she turned to Homura. "My daughter. I cannot stay here long, for no human vessel on Assiah can long hold me, even one such as this."

"Sakura!" yelled Tomoe, her finger slipping and causing a bullet to enter Sakura's pale skin.

"Shut up!" yelled Sakura. "Don't ruin the moment!" Sakura raised her hand, and a mass of squirming creatures appeared in the ground underneath Homura. Falling in, the girl grabbed a bomb from her inventory and kept it safe for now, not willing to risk her own death.

"What is this?" calmly asked Homura, her grip tightening so her fingernails dug into her skin. All the while, she tried to resist the thing's pull.

"Gehenna Gate! The pathway between Assiah and Gehenna. Now, let's go to Gehenna!" Blue flames surrounded Homura, and she stared at them in astonishment. Sakura laughed, and Homura took the opportunity to throw the bomb. "Oh? What's this?" Sakura laughed again, her body hanging limply like a puppet's. "Just take your demon powers back already." Frowning, Homura jolted up, only succeeding in slightly loosening the hold, but not much. And considering how quickly she was being pulled in, it made no difference. As she suspected, Homura was trapped.

"Tomoe!" yelled Homura. "Miki!" The bluenette barely stirred in her slumber and Tomoe was covered in blue flames. She was alone in this battle. And if she was sucked in (as she surely would be) Madoka would be all alone, Only a dismal fate awaited the two of them.

"Happy birthday, my daughter!" exclaimed Sakura. "This is- ugh!" Sakura's eyes flashed back to their normal state for a moment. "For Sayaka…" Then her eyes were once again glowing. "You, magical girl?" Back to normal. "Not for you, Akemi, but for Sayaka, I don't mind dying!" With that, Kyoko drove a spear into her chest while her soul gem began to rapidly darken as she struggled to heal herself.

"Kyoko." Miki's eyes flickered open. "You…" Sakura smiled feebly.

"I stopped Satan for a while, right, Sayaka? Cooler than violin boy, right?" Miki began to weep.  
"You idiot," she murmured just as Sakura's soul gem broke. "You stupid, stupid idiot!" But there was a bigger problem at hand. The witch Ophelia was here.

With the departure of Satan, Tomoe was healed. Summoning a wave of guns, she fired, leaving Homura to get out of her predicament herself. Then, Ophelia loomed before her, ready to go for the killing blow. Homura's guns were empty and her bombs would be too weak and had the off chance of killing her. But there was the gun Sakura gave her.  
There was a bright blue light when the gun exited its sheath. Shuddering (she didn't know why) Homura fired, only after realizing the blue flames which engulfed her body. Ophelia drew back, startled by the new weapon, but Miki and Tomoe's combined efforts took her out. No longer did Homura stand in Gehenna Gate, but from the looks Miki and Tomoe gave her, she wished she was.

"Magical girls turned into witches." Miki began with something more like a statement than a question. Homura nodded, but Miki had the decency not to cry, though she still had tear tracks on her face from the drama surrounding Sakura's death.

"You drew the weapon though Sakura asked you not to." Tomoe's statement was more accusatory than Miki's aloof one. Homura winced.

"Sorry," she murmured, and Tomoe sighed.

"On Sakura's phone, there's a number. Call it. You'll know which it is." Homura gently held the object, feeling as though it was burning coals or something akin to that. "You need to meet Mephisto and join your brother."

"Brother?" asked Homura. She had only vague recollections of a young boy, with hair like hers, always messy. He had left for a monastery, while she had been adopted. Her brother would just mess up this whole scheme. "You mean… Okumura?" Tomoe nodded and turned on the phone. Mephisto's number was the first one she saw.

"Now call," gently pressed Tomoe. "Call, and become an exorcist." Homura pressed the image and there was a ringing sound. After a while, there was silence. The other line was dead.

"I guess… Sakura's death was in vain." Miki and Tomoe began to cry, with Miki hiding her face in the crook of her arm.

"Don't- don't say that!" she cried out and ran off. Homura watched her go.

"I'll call again," she promised Tomoe. "After all…"

This timeline might not be such a waste.

Sakura's funeral was sad and beautiful. The redhead lay in a narrow coffin, the cheap wood splintering. The dead girl wore a long, white gown with fluttering sleeves like a butterfly's wings. Her hair was neatly combed back, not held in the usual messy ponytail, and her crimson eyes were closed. Sakura blossoms covered her.

Miki stood over the coffin, her soul gem clutched in one hand. The jewel was darker than it should have been, but Homura let the girl greive. Later, she could cleanse her gem.

When the sad, slow music started, Miki slipped away and tried to call again. This time, she heard a voice. And a ring. Right behind her.

"Well, well. Another child of Satan. And a zombie as well." Homura took a deep breath. She would do this. .. for Madoka.

"Yes. And I want to become an exorcist."

The man before her just laughed. He wore tacky clothes, noted Homura, so he looked like a clown. "Well?" she demanded after a minute. The man straightened up.

"You know, your brother said something similar. Tomorrow, you will begin your training." The man looked over her shoulder to Miki and Tomoe. "Of course, your friends are welcome to join." Homura shook her head. Miki and Tomoe would get in the way. They needed to fight Walpurgis. But there was somebody…

"Actually," said Homura, "there is someone who would be good to enroll." Homura grinned. Keep her. enemies close, right? Keep them far away from Madoka. "Her name is Oriko Mikuni." The clown man laughed again. Wow, he was annoying.

"Oriko," repeated. the man over and over. "You see, Oriko is already a student- she'll start as a teacher soon." Oh, damnit. Well. ..

"Sign me up."


End file.
